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Guyana has until Dec. to respond to Venezuela’s submission to ICJ
The International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Border controversy case…
Kaieteur News – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set timelines for the submission of the second round of written pleadings by Guyana and Venezuela in the Border controversy case.
Earlier this month, the Government of Guyana in a statement revealed that Judge Nawaf Salam, President of the ICJ, convened a meeting with the agents of Guyana and Venezuela regarding the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 case (between Guyana and Venezuela).
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the subsequent procedures in the case, pursuant to Article 31 of the Rules of the Court, and to determine whether a second round of written pleadings was necessary following Venezuela’s submission of its Counter-Memorial on April 8, 2024, and, if deemed necessary, to establish the timelines required for the preparation of these pleadings.
According to the statement, both sides agreed that a second round of written pleadings was necessary. Guyana proposed a period of 6 months from the date of Venezuela’s Counter-Memorial submission (implying a deadline of October 8, 2024) for its reply, however, was open to extending this to late October subject to the Court’s Diary.
Venezuela requested a 12-month period from Guyana’s October Reply to adequately prepare its Rejoinder, citing the complexity of the case, despite the ICJ’s procedural rules which generally favour shorter time limits.
The timeline has now been set. Guyana has until December 9 to make submissions, while Venezuela has until August 11, 2025.
The case before the ICJ is to determine the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which settled the border between Venezuela and Guyana (then British Guiana), including the Essequibo territory as part of Guyana.
However, prior to Guyana’s independence, Venezuela revived the border controversy. This led to the establishment of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, a legally binding instrument addressing the controversy over the 1899 Arbitral Award and the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela. The agreement’s Article IV outlined a procedure for mandatory settlement. If bilateral negotiations failed, both countries agreed to refer the matter to the United Nations Secretary General.
Initially, the Secretary0-General employed his Good Offices to facilitate a mutually satisfactory settlement. Despite over 20 years of engagement between Guyana and Venezuela, this process yielded no progress. Consequently, the Secretary-General declared the failure of the Good Offices process. According to Article IV of the Geneva Agreement, the next step was the selection of a new means of dispute resolution. The Secretary-General opted for litigation before the International Court of Justice.
As such, in March 2018, Guyana submitted an application to the ICJ, seeking a final and binding judgment on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the boundary between the two states.
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